Possessed

POSSESSED

AN ARELIA LARUE

NOVEL #3

Copy Right Kira
Saito

Smashwords
Edition

Utterly abandon

Yourself to the

Moment-and you
will

Find every day
new

Openings, new
light,

New insight. And

Those new
insights

Will go on
changing

You

-Osho

Chapter 1

Anger is All I Have
Left

“
Oh queen. You break what’s
left of my heart with your naivety.” Ivan gave me a smirk as he
placed his arms around my waist and pulled me close to
him.

My body was limp in his powerful
embrace. He brought his lips to my ear. “You really think you’re
strong enough to take me on? I’ve been around a long time, baby.
I’ve seen things that you can’t even begin to imagine.”

“
You sound like such a
cliché,” I said, as I dug my nails into him and tried to wiggle out
of his arms. I had no idea if I had successfully sucked out all his
powers. At this point, all I wanted to do was get far away from him
as possible. Maybe my plan had been a little rash. I should have
asked more questions when Gran-Ibo gave me the Dark Arts
Oil.

He let out a dry laugh, but didn’t say
anything. Instead, he placed a finger over my lips and wiped off
some of the Dark Arts Oil. He placed his finger into his mouth and
tasted the oil. “I’m the cliché? You’re the one using Dark Arts Oil
and…” He sniffed my neck and gave it a little lick. “Come To Me
Oil. Amateur moves, queen. I expected something more dramatic from
you. Perhaps a voodoo doll? Or a creating a zombie to attack me?
Yes. In case you didn’t know, we are capable of creating zombies.
You should have hit me with anything but the typical oils. How
boring. I guess I over-estimated you after all.”

There were a thousand things I probably
could have done at that exact second. I could have called on
Sousson Pannan or Erzulie. Instead, I relied on good old-fashioned
defense mechanisms and kicked Ivan hard in the groin. He
immediately released me and let out a low moan. “Never
underestimate your opponent, jerk,” I said, as I made a mad dash
out of the ballroom and upstairs. “And stop calling me queen. It’s
pretty damn annoying!”

I remembered that I had passed red
brick dust outside our bedroom door. If I made it there, I would be
safe until I could figure out my next move. I was supposed to
understand Ivan and help him, but he was making it awfully
difficult. I knew he wasn’t crazy enough to murder me, but he was a
very angry soul. From my experience, people tended to do extremely
stupid things when they were angry. I was living proof of
that.

I’d run halfway up the spiral staircase
when I heard Ivan right behind me. I felt his hand grip around my
ankle. I fell with a thud, which temporarily disoriented
me.

“
Easy, queen.” I felt Ivan’s
arms around me as he scooped me up from the ground like a
ragdoll.

Before I had a chance to say anything,
he placed his hand over my mouth and carried me up the stairs. I
revolted wildly against him, but he was totally unfazed by my
little antics. He tossed me an arrogant grin. “I’ve been brutally
beaten countless times, been forced to work under pretty crappy
circumstances- without any health insurance, by the way- and
survived depressing pangs of starvation. I’m pretty sure I can
handle the antics of a scrawny, love-struck voodoo
queen.”

Obviously, Ivan had no idea who he was
up against. Or maybe he did. Faking being all powerful and brave
was vastly different from actually believing it. When I had tried
to suck out Ivan’s energy, I had felt myself waver. In that moment
of doubt, I know I had sealed my miserable fate. And now I had to
face the consequences. Damn.

Chapter 2

Different World
Views

“
Erzulie, I messed up,
didn’t I?” I spoke to her mentally. “Please. Please. Answer
me.”

“
You weren’t successful, my
child. Your faith wavered.”

“
Great. Perfect. What should
I do now?”

“
You must reason with him
and listen to him. Fighting with him won’t get you anywhere,” she
said.

“
But.”

“
Not another word. Do as I
say.” Erzulie’s voice was firm.

“
Fine,” I grudgingly
agreed.

At the top of the stairs, a silent
darkness greeted us. Not a peep came from the any of the
china-white doors that occupied the expansive hall. Ivan stopped in
front of his room and opened it while he juggled me in his
arms.

Inside, the overpowering scent of stale
cigarettes and John the Conqueror root filled my nostrils. Ratty
t-shirts littered the floor, and a rainbow of candles lined the
tops of the heavy armoire and dresser.

“
If I let you go, you’re not
going to do something rash like kick me or scream, are you?” Ivan
asked.

I shook my head.

“
That a girl.” He roughly
tossed me on the bed.

I landed with a soft thud on the
pillowy mattress. “Ouch! Your history doesn’t give you the right to
be an ass,” I said, as I sat up. “And how about opening a window or
something, it’s really hot in here.”

“
How about you stop your
whining and shut up,” he said, as he sat beside me and took off his
tie and loosened his shirt buttons. “Day in and day out, that’s all
you and Barbie seem to do. No wonder you’re such good
friends.”

I took a deep breath and ignored him. I
reminded myself that I needed to have sympathy for the Devil. “What
are you going to do to Ivan, huh? Are you going to murder me or put
me under another spell? Whatever it is, do it already so I don’t
have to spend another second in this smelly room with you. I’m not
afraid of you.”

He looked at me and smirked. For a
second, his hard grey eyes softened. He reached out and took my
hand into his, and when he spoke his voice was uncannily calm and
composed. “I’m a reasonable man. I’m going to give you a choice.
Simply leave. Take the princess with you. Never talk to Ken again
and you won’t have to worry about me messing with you. I have
nothing against you, but I have everything against him.”

A rational girl would have accepted his
offer. She would have immediately packed her bags and ran for her
life and never looked back. For a minute I was tempted, but if I
did that would make everything worthless. Every struggle and small
battle fought so far would signify nothing. Plus, there was no way
I was going to abandon Lucus. I didn’t want to. If that made me a
love-struck voodoo queen, whatever.

I shook my hand free from his. “No.
That’s not going to happen. I’ll have to decline your
ever-so-thoughtful offer.”

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he
rose from the bed and turned his back on me. Slowly, he peeled off
his shirt and walked towards the dresser, where a bottle of vodka
and a pack of cigarettes sat.

I winced as my eyes focused on his
muscular back. How could I have overlooked the faint but distinct
red design that covered it? A grotesque tattoo of multiple lash
marks.

“
Why would you… Why would
you tattoo that on your back?” I asked.

He didn’t turn around. “I didn’t. The
soul has a way of manifesting what it feels onto flesh. Strange,
isn’t it?”

A flashback hit me, and Louis’ screams
pierced my ears as whip met skin. Against my better judgment, I got
up from the bed, straightened my black lace dress and walked over
to Ivan. I slowly ran my fingers over his sweaty back and thought
of something comforting to say. Something that Lucus would say.
Something nice.

“
You don’t have to live like
this. Always angry.”

I heard him take a deep breath and then
a long sip from the bottle that was in his hand. He turned to face
me and smiled mischievously. “What is it with you? Can’t you see
that anger is all I have left? Hatred is the only thing I live for.
It’s the only thing that gives me any pleasure.”

“
No. It doesn’t have to be
that way. I can help you,” I said. “I can help you understand why
your mom did this to you, and…” My voice trailed off as my eyes
focused on Ivan’s scowl.

He rolled his eyes and laughed. “You’re
so naïve, falling for that crap Prince Charming is feeding you.
It’s so easy for him to move on and preach about the future being
bright and blah, blah, blah. The reality is, people are stupid and
stubborn and nothing will ever change, so why should I even bother
trying?”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s not
like that. Everything doesn’t always have to be so messed up. Maybe
most people are better than we give them credit for. I’m over being
constantly bitter, aren’t you? ”

He lit up a cigarette. “No. I’m not. My
bitterness and silly little addictions are the only thing I own.
From the moment I was born into this wretched world, nothing has
been mine. Nothing. I’ve been produced, packaged, and marketed like
some cheap product you can buy off E-bay. Can you comprehend what
that’s like? Living your whole life without ever having
control?”

I looked at my feet as Ivan spoke,
unable to meet his eyes. There was no way I could ever compare my
life to his. I had only gotten a small taste of what his existence
had been like and that had been traumatizing enough.

He jerked my head from its low position
and forced me to meet his eyes. “Too much for you? Too weak to
admit that I’m the ugly consequence of their actions?”

“
I don’t think you’re ugly.”
Maybe I was too weak. I had no idea what to say to him. I wasn’t
exactly the world’s best advice giver. I tried really hard to think
back to my refrigerator door, where grand-mere insisted on hanging
these heart-shaped magnets with random inspirational quotes on
them. Sadly, no quote came to mind. Nothing came to mind at all. So
I stood there and looked back down at my feet. Dealing with Ivan
had been so much easier when he was just some random creep. Now,
his creepiness had a heartbreaking story behind it, and I didn’t
know what to make out of that or him.

“
Are you going to tell me to
just get over it?” he asked, as he exhaled an overpowering cloud of
smoke. It lingered in the humid air and tickled my dry
throat.

“
No.” I lifted my head and
waved away the smoke.

“
Good. Because, Mon Dieu, I
despise that phrase.”

“
No one expects you to ever
completely get over it. I know getting over pain is hard, but maybe
you can try to be a tiny bit happier?” I reasoned. “If you need
someone to talk to I can listen. I’m not great at giving advice but
I can listen to you vent.”

“
Ha ha ha. Am I in the
Twilight Zone? The most miserable little girl on the planet is
telling me to try to be happy? You’re dramatic and whiny because
you have to work a few extra shifts here and there to pay some
bills. You have it easy,” he said, as he walked over to the bed,
stretched out his long limbs and stared up at the
ceiling.

That really annoyed me. I stood over
him and crossed my arms. “Have it easy? No one really has it easy.
We all try to do the best we can. Everyone has their
issues.”

Ivan continued to stare at the ceiling
while smoking his cigarette. “You and I have more in common than
you think, queen. We’re both smart enough to know that the world
around us loves to put people in boxes. People love to sit around
and categorize every sad little aspect of life into random,
meaningless boxes. They get off on it because it makes them feel
all-powerful. It’s sad, really, but it’s reality. Too bad for us,
we don’t belong at the top of any list. As much as you’re trying to
deny it, you know that Prince Charming will never get you. Your
little princess friend will never truly understand, and the only
reason you’re even bothering is because everyone around you is
saying ‘just get over it already’. You’ll never be completely
happy. You weren’t born to be happy because you were never given a
fair chance.”